Sun Microsystems Inc is in talks with some of the major internet service providers regarding possible tie-up agreements through which the ISPs will distribute and offer services around Sun's StarOffice productivity office software suite.

Sun's business manager for SunONE Desktop Solutions, Mru Patel said that Sun was in talks with "all the big ISPs" to try to decide if the market is ready for them to offer the StarOffice software stack as a browser-based service. If the plans do go ahead, Patel said, a supported service might cost around 30 pounds ($46.56) per user per month, or as little as 2 pounds ($3.10) per user per month, depending on the level of service and support required.

The negotiations are one of many initiatives from the Santa Clara, California-based company as it attempts to gain 10% of Microsoft Corp's Office market share by the end of 2004, according to Patel. The company is also in talks with some of the major retail chains to increase the availability of StarOffice, and is gearing up for the release of its Linux-based desktop. It will also relaunch its Sun Ray thin client device in January.